Brand Favourites: Rimmel

I thought I might make a series of favourites from particular brands and I decided to start today with Rimmel who, with so many of their products both heavily recommended and affordable, I probably own more products from than any other brand.

Base- Match Perfection foundation
Though it's a bit too light a coverage for me this time of year and doesn't have the best lasting power, I love how well it matches my unusually pale skin tone and it tends to be my go to light coverage foundation. I also love the way it smells (though it might be one to avoid if you don't like scented make up). Honourable mentions go to the BB Cream which comes in a 'very light' shade for the super pale, is very cheap and makes an excellent light base in warm weather and the Stay Matte Powder- which does well what it says on the tin and fits better into this category than any other.

Eyes- Brixton Browns palette
This isn't the most pigmented or creamy eye shadow but its such a great combination of colours, all are very wearable and work well together. Its also great value for money at £6.99 and is very compact making it great to travel with.

Brows- Brow This Way clear brow gel
Holds brows in place pretty well and for a decent amount of time, though I wouldn't say all day. It doesn't fall into the worst pitfalls of clear brow gels- no heavy, almost painful eyebrow, no big clumps of gel when applying.

Cheeks- Stay Blushed liquid blush in 'Sunkissed Cherry'
I love a peach blush, I love a cream blush and this is a lovely combination of the two. Very, pretty and very long lasting my only issue is that its not the quickest and easiest to apply evenly, although that may just be because I'm not used to having to squeeze the right amount of blush out of a tube.

Lips- Moisture Renew Lipstick
I love the smell and feel of these lipsticks, they apply beautifully and are very pigmented and, as the name would suggest, moisturising. I particularly love the peachy shade 705 Let's Get Naked, which is pictured above. Honourable mention to the Kate Moss lipsticks, which are also excellent, less smooth and moisturising but longer lasting and just as pigmented.

As always I'd love to hear any product recommendations! See you soon!
Eva xx

Sleek Matte Me Lip Cream Review

There seems to be more and more lip creams on the market recently and I love them, so today I thought I'd share my favourite, the Sleek Matte Lip Cream. These are one of the best lasting lip products I've ever used and cost only £4.99. They stay on all day but come off easily enough with make up remover in the evening, they feel incredibly light on the lips and I have not found them at all drying as I sometimes do with matte lipsticks. The shade 'party pink' is a particularly gorgeous colour- a sort of coral-red on the lips. I also own 'Petal' which is a pretty blue toned pale pink and a little harder to wear. The range of shades is the main downfall of this product for me as there is only 6 and not many of them are universally wearable, though I do want to pick up the classic red shade 'Rioja Red' as I'm so in love with the formula.

I'd love to hear anyone else's lip cream recommendations and I hope you're having a lovely day, see you soon!
Eva xx

10 Minute Make up Routine

(apologies for the iPhone flash photography, I'm struggling with this only a few hours of good light thing)

Today I thought I'd run through the make up I wear when there's no time for neatly applied dark lipstick, highlighting, contouring or winged eye liner. Simple and trustworthy, I almost (but not quite) went as far as to call this my everyday make up routine.

I apply Revlon Colorstay foundation as a base with a Real Techniques expert face brush with the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer blended under eyes and on any blemishes with a Real Techniques deluxe crease brush. A little of an MUA Cream Blusher is dabbed on my cheeks, blending it out with my finger tips. This is a good one for quick application as its not too pigmented and never seems to manage to look as though its too much or in the wrong place. On my eyes I blend a Maybelline Color Tattoo cream eye shadow in On and On Bronze on my eyelids and line my lower lash line with it using a Real Techniques accent brush before curling my lashes and applying a couple of coats of Maybelline Great Lash Waterproof mascara, which holds the curl all day. Then I run a bit of clear brow gel through my eyebrows (I'm using Rimmel Brow This Way currently) and put on a lip colour that doesn't require too careful an application- like Revlon lip butter in pink truffle, which is a favourite 'my lips but better' shade of mine, and you're done!

See you Monday!
Eva xx

Favourite Drugstore Foundations for Pale Skin

(Top: Rimmel Match Perfection, Bottom: Revlon Colorstay)

For years after I first started wearing foundation I was battling to find a foundation pale enough for my vampire white, completely un-tan-able skin and cheap enough for my teenage purse. Foundations available at highstreet prices in the UK tend to come in 5 shades of beige, which I have never been able to understand. Surely they'd sell better if the shades were more representative of the skin tones of the demographic they're trying to sell them to? Anyway, in the past few years I've settled on a couple of drugstore foundations which I love and come in shades that blend well into my super pale skin. The first is my favourite summer foundation, Rimmel Match Perfection (in 010 Light Porcelain), it looks lovely and dewy and feels light on the skin but doesn't give enough coverage for me in Winter. The only other problem I have with it is that it doesn't last particularly well, but this has not stopped me from repurchasing it. Revlon Colorstay foundation (in 110 Ivory) however, lasts very well, gives an excellent coverage and has been the foundation I've been reaching for the most this winter, though I think its a bit heavy for a warm weather foundation.

I'd love any suggestions of cheap foundations for pale skin- I've got Bourjois Healthy Mix and Loreal True Match on my wishlist to try out next. See you Saturday (if I can get my act together and start actually postig when I say I will that is)!
Eva xx

Mini Haul and Reviews

I've been doing a bit of shopping recently and thought I'd run through some of the things I've bought and do some mini reviews of those that I've tried out.

Whilst excited about the Christmas and Halloween stock coming in, I went to Lush determined not to buy more than one thing (already having a good few bubble bars on the go). I only came out with two, so I suppose I didn't do too badly. I bought the Christmas Eve bubble bar and the Northern Lights bath bomb. Christmas Eve smells lovely and can turn your bath a pretty blue but, as half of it is yellow, it can also turn it a less pleasant yellow or green depending on which part you use. Northern lights can be easily split into smaller pieces which is great, everyone loves getting more for their money. It also turns the bath a lovely colour and leaves little stars in it, though the scent isn't one of Lush's best.

From boots I bought the Rimmel HD 5 Pan Eyeshadow in Brixton brown because I'd heard it recommended, loved the colours and wanted a little palette to take to London this weekend. It didn't seem too pigmented when I swatched it but it's not too bad for £6.99. I also got a Rimmel clear brow gel for £3.99 which, though it can become a bit heavy toward the end of the day, has held my brows in place pretty well.

I also picked up my favourite Yankee candle, fireside treats, which I've described here, from a card shop, I believe it was Clintons, and a couple more make up items from Superdrug & Topshop. From Topshop I bought a red lip cream as it was on sale for £3, I'm a bit scared of wearing something so bright that doesn't really stay put, but with a bit of blotting it's okay. It also feels moisturising and smells like ice cream! From Superdrug I bought an MUA cream blush for £2 in a peachy shade (which is completely unjustifiable I have far too many peach blushes) I haven't used this yet but I've only heard good things and am really excited to try it.

I may not be able to get a post up Saturday because of aforementioned London trip but if not, there'll definitely be one up Monday, see you soon!
Eva xx

A November Yankee Candle Combo

After what was apparently the warmest halloween on record in the UK, its finally started to get colder. What with that, the nights drawing in and the long lead up to christmas about to begin, it is almost certainly candle season. I tend to go for yankee candles, firstly because they are priced within reason (at least compared to most other popular scented candles) and secondly because they have just about every scent and size of candle anyone could ever want. I also like to burn a couple of these candles at once in order to mix the scents (and create even more pretty flickering lights). I often do this with a couple of the floral scents- Midnight Jasmine and True Rose at the moment. But my very favourite combo is Fluffy Towels (a ‘fresh’ scent, basically it smells like washing powder but in a warm, cozy, comforting kind of way) and Fireside Treats (a sweet marshmallowy smell but one that has a hint of masculinity to it and is a more complex scent than many other sweet ones). As a combination this seems appropriate to this time of year- you toast marshmallows on bonfire night, right? Also, its sweet but not as sweet as the Christmas Cookie type candles that many people think are too sickly.

I'd love to know what your favourite scented candles are for this time of year, see you Thursday!
Eva xx

Liebster Award

So, a few people have nominated me to do the liebster award tag post. I thought I'd do it as I've only just started blogging and want to get as involved in the community as I can. Thank you for nominating me Hannah's world, Dominoe's Diary ,Millie-Kate and Kiki!! 

The Rules

1.  Thank the person who nominated you and display the award on your post.
2. Answer the questions posted by the person who nominated you.
3.  Write 11 random facts about yourself.
4. Nominate up to 11 other blogs with under 200 followers to answer a new list of questions you've come up with.
5. Inform the bloggers that you've nominated them.

My answers

I'm going to choose 11 of my favourite questions from the people who nominated me (Kiki's questions aren't included as she nominated me after the majority of this blogpost was already typed up).

Millie-Kate asked:

1. What do you order at Starbucks? Anything seasonal, I'm always sucked in by that gimmick.
2. Favourite youtuber? Essiebutton at the moment, particularly her vlog channel.
3. Favourite Disney film? Mary Poppins, definitely.

Hannah's world asked:

1. What is your least favourite subject at school? It was always that typical Maths/P.E. tie.
2. Favourite chocolate bar? Ooh that's difficult, Snickers I think.
3. Spring or Autumn? I can't choose, they both build up the excitement for Summer/Winter and they're both very beautiful, maybe Autumn? No I don't know.
4. What are you afraid of? So many things I don't know where to start, I'm very scaredy, 'What aren't you afraid of?' would probably be a shorter list.

Dominoe's Diary asked:

1. What's (was) your favourite subject at school? When I was younger I liked English and Art, when I was a bit older definitely history.
2. What's the first thing you do in the morning? Usually scroll through my social networks on my phone.
3. What would you do if you could turn back time? It depends on the limits of this time travel, I wouldn't want to change anything (that always goes disastrously wrong in movies) but there's lots of things in history I'd like to witness without being directly involved and with the option of being able to time travel back immediately.
4. Why did you start blogging? Its a fun and productive hobby, I love writing and blogging helps to improve it through regular practice and it can eventually offer you some really cool opportunities.

11 facts about me

1. I have double jointed fingers.
2. I have two cats and a dog.
3. My favourite film is Mary Poppins.
4. I've never been outside of Europe.
5. I've never broken a bone.
6. As a small child I had more imaginary friends than I could remember the names of and was in some kind of who-can-have-the-most-imaginary-friends competition with my friend.
7. I'm still close to that friend now.
8. I still read a Horrid Henry Christmas book every Christmas (Christmas traditions die hard).
9. I don't often paint my nails.
10. I cry easily.
11. I have a bath almost every evening when its cold.

My Nominees

http://littleworldofannahiya.blogspot.co.uk/

http://foodieguidetobeauty.blogspot.com

http://amindlessmagpie.blogspot.co.uk/

My Questions

1. Where would you most like to travel to?
2. What's your favourite smell?
3. What's your least favourite food?
4. Given the choice, would you travel to the past or the future?
5. What's you favourite sweet?
6. What book that you had to read for school did you most hate?
7. Cake or cookies?
8. What country are you from?
9. What's your favourite thing about autumn?
10. What do you waste the most money on?
11. Where would you most like to live?

Well, that took me longer than I thought it would, how can it be so difficult to think of 11 random facts about yourself? Oh well, at least I got a post up today. See you Tuesday (hopefully)!!

Eva xx